Angelo Quinto: Killed by his Biggest Fear
March 1, 2021
“Please don’t kill me. Please don’t kill me.” – Angelo Quinto
Angelo Quinto was a 30-year-old Filipino-American and a Navy Veteran who was killed by his biggest fear: the police. On December 23rd, 2020, Quinto’s family called 911 when he was having a mental health crisis. His family stated that he had been slipping into episodes of paranoia after he sustained a head injury.
When the officers arrived at his home, they flipped Quinto over and pinned him on his stomach. His mother, Cassandra Quinto-Collins, said he was pleading for his life. A police officer then proceeded to put his knee on Quinto’s neck and he became unconscious. Angelo Quinto died 3 days later.
He needed help, yet the cops killed him. Cassandra Quinto-Collins said “she watched in horror as a responding officer knelt on her son’s neck for nearly 5 minutes while another officer restrained him. One officer was holding his legs and the other officer had his knee or lower leg here (gesturing to the back of her neck).” Although she was unable to record the main encounter with the police where the officer kneeled on his neck, a video she had managed to take captures Angelo Quinto unresponsive, with cops quickly removing his handcuffs and rolling him into a mobile stretcher. Quinto’s mom had no idea what was going on and watched her own son die.
His sister Isabella (18), who made the call to 911, said, “I was there. I was watching them (the police officers). I trusted them, I thought they knew what they were doing.” Because of this, she now feels guilty for the whole incident. She said, “I asked the detectives if there (was) another number I should have called, and they told me that there wasn’t and that I did the right thing. But right now, I can tell you that the right thing would not have killed my brother.”
The family is now planning on suing the Antioch Police Department, which took almost a month to acknowledge Quinto’s death and the police’s role in it. John Burris, the Quinto family’s lawyer, said “Angelo Quinto was a healthy young man in his mother’s arms. The police grabbed him. They themselves, their conduct, snuffed the life out of him. We see that not only as a violation of his civil rights but it’s a violation of humanity, frankly.”
People with mental health issues need help, not a knee to their neck for 5 minutes. This kneeling technique that has killed so many has to stop. My heart breaks for the Quinto family.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/25/us/angelo-quinto-death-police-kneel.html
